Football: Play the season in Australia

Overview

Experience football Aussie style! With our Play the Season programme you’ll play, train and party all season long with an Australian football club. Plus, you’ll enjoy shared accommodation at the heart of a great city, and make friends for life along the way...

Recommended for:

Living like an Aussie, all season long

Improving your game in a club environment

Exploring Oz with new mates

Boosting your CV and earning extra cash

At a glance:

Hand picked Australian football club

Regular matches, training & social events

Shared accommodation

Staff support throughout your stay

Sporting adventures

The Season allows you to spend 6 months living, working and playing football in Australia. You’ll have loads of time to make strong friendships and become fully integrated into Aussie life.

You will be located in the amazing city of Melbourne and placed with a football club that suits your sporting ability and personality! Our centrally located accommodation puts you at the heart of the city, so get ready to enjoy the freedom and excitement of life in Australia with a group of new mates.

Playing football in Australia

We have links with a wide range of fantastic football clubs in Australia who’ll welcome you as a new member. What’s more, we’ll match you with an appropriate club, so whatever your standard of football, you’ll be able to make the grade!

With the Mini Season, you’ll experience part of the Aussie football season, spending 4 - 17 weeks playing and partying with your club.

Club structure

Australian football clubs are generally large; they tend to have between 5-10 men’s teams, plus several ladies’ squads. The top team at each club will compete in the highest state leagues, a standard roughly equivalent to higher non-league levels in the UK.

Matches and training

Most clubs train 2-3 times a week and play matches at least once a week. There are optional gym and fitness sessions, and some clubs offer free or discounted gym membership.

Off the pitch

With so many members, your club will be a hive of social activity. There’ll be drinks after training and matches, plus social events throughout the season - new players’ night, pub crawls and an end-of-season dinner. Many clubs also arrange pre-season tours, a great chance to get to know your team-mates whilst exploring a new part of Oz.

Football development

Our clubs are selected for their high quality coaching and facilities, helping you to return home as a much improved player. If your performances are noted, you could also find yourself selected for a State representative squad – highly prestigious!

…and finally

What are you waiting for? Get out there and show the Aussies how it’s done!

Working Overseas

You’ll have plenty of spare time between training and competing if you’d like to get a job. As well as enhancing your CV and boosting your bank balance, working overseas will help you meet new people and provide more structure to your time away.

Top tips for getting work:

Plan the type of work you'd like to obtain

Try to gain relevant work experience

Prepare a CV and have two references

Be proactive & persistent in job hunting

Employment options:

Café/bar work: sociable environment

Office work: good rates of pay

Coaching: fulfilling and well paid

Work experience: boost your CV

Working in Australia

You’ll be living close to lots of employment options like offices, shops, bars and restaurants. Contacts at your sport club might also help you to find coaching work.

In addition, your mentor will provide guidance on working in Australia but you should ensure you’re well prepared as the job market can be as competitive as the sports arena!

Social Life

Making the most of your time away

Travelling to the other side of the world to play sport is a truly once in a lifetime experience. So all Sport Lived programmes are designed to make sure that both your sporting life, and your social life, are as action packed and exciting as possible. That’s why you’ll always get…

Social events with Sport Lived

The cities you can visit with Sport Lived are some of the most exciting and welcoming on the planet, and there always seems to be something interesting going on. So to help you make the most of your time away, our local staff organise social events like trips to top sporting occasions, surfing lessons, welcome dinners and loads more besides. They’ll also try to assist you get tickets to events you want to watch while you're away, and give you expert advice on the best things to see and do in the city.

Membership of a local sports club

One of the best things about travelling with Sport Lived is that we arrange for you to join a local sports club. We handpick clubs with lots of members and different teams - some of whom have regular social events. Some clubs may offer preseason tours, and in the past some clubs have organised welcome events for new players. Trust us, you’ll feel like an old hand within a few days and the other members will make sure there’s never a dull moment!

A great place to stay in the centre of town

We offer programmes in some fantastic cities, and we know that to make the most of your time away, you need to be right in the centre of the action. So we make sure that your accommodation is in the heart of the city - just a short walk away from all the best cafes, restaurants, bars, shops and pretty much anything else you’ll ever need.

Like minded flatmates

Having a few friends to share your experiences with is a huge part of any foreign trip – they make the whole experience loads easier and loads more fun. So you’ll always share your swish city centre accommodation with other Sport Lived participants - that way you’ll have a ready-made group of friends from the minute you step off the plane!

Career Enhancing Experiences

Your Sport Lived adventure is the perfect time to get work experience and demonstrate the skills that universities and future employers look for - your Sport Lived work experience will help set you apart.

Independence & initiative

Sport Lived will provide loads of help when you're looking for part-time work but ultimately it's down to you to get out there and make it happen. Showing a prospective employer that you've managed to find, secure and maintain a job in an overseas country is highly impressive.

Teamwork

Teamwork is at the heart of the Sport Lived experience. Living, playing and training alongside a new group of friends is a great way to develop strong social skills and show that you're a real team player.

Personal development

Joining a new sports club, living in an overseas city and securing a job are exciting challenges that will enable you to grow as an individual, leaving you ready to tackle whatever lies ahead after your Sport Lived experience.

Work experience

Living overseas is a great time to think about gaining invaluable work experience in a field you're considering as a career. Sport Lived participants have volunteered in hospitals, law firms and newspaper offices. Such work demonstrates commitment and initiative.

FAQs

1. What type of visa do I need?

Australian Working Holiday Visa

If you would like to obtain paid work during your programme you will need to obtain an Australian Working Holiday Visa. UK citizens aged 18-30 are eligible for an Australian Working Holiday Visa which enables holders to live and work in Australia for up to 12 months. It costs around £270 and can take up to 4 weeks to process so we recommend getting the paperwork sorted well in advance of your departure.

Australian Tourist Visa

If you don’t want to work in Australia you can get an Australian Tourist Visa. For more information see the Travel & Visa section in the About Us area of our site.

2. What is the standard like?

Sport Lived offer programmes for players and athletes of all abilities. Therefore, whether you play at a high standard or not, a Sport Lived programme is perfect for you. A desire to play the sport you love in a spectacular new country is all you will need!

Standard Accommodation

Choose our Standard Accommodation in Australia and you’ll live in a dorm room in a hostel or lodge. All our Standard pads are centrally located and provide easy access to public transport. This makes it easier to get to your sports club or coaching placement, as well as giving you the chance to try out all the bars, clubs and restaurants in the city centre.

At a glance:

Top quality hostel accommodation

Located close to transport and nightlife

Shared with Sport Lived participants

Meet travellers from around the world

Your place in Australia...

You’ll share a dorm room with other Sport Lived participants. You’ll get fully equipped kitchen facilities, a base for your belongings and large comfortable communal areas, so you can catch up with other Sport Lived participants and travellers from around the world.

NB: Illustrative accommodation pictures.

Premium Accommodation

Choose our Premium Accommodation in Australia and you’ll live in a 4 star apartment in the centre of town. Your sports club or coaching placement will be easily accessible by public transport and with lots of bars, clubs, restaurants and shops close by there are plenty of places to explore.

At a glance:

4-star fully furnished apartments (twin rooms)

Located close to transport and nightlife

Shared with Sport Lived participants

Relax! Most bills are included

Home from home...

Apartments are shared with other Sport Lived participants and include a 24 hour reception plus many mod-cons. Apartments are fully furnished including a TV, linen, kitchen appliances, washing machines, etc. They are also serviced weekly so you can spend your time having fun.

NB: Illustrative accommodation pictures.

Melbourne

First things first. Whether it be playing professionally, socially with mates, coaching or simply watching on the telly, Melburnians LOVE sport. It doesn't matter where you are - the heart of the city, a country town, or in the suburbs, you will not only find a pub with a TV screen, but also an enthusiastic Aussie crowd to watch the action. In terms of live sport, we have the famous Boxing Day test match, Aussie Open Tennis, Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup – Australia’s most famous horse race.

But there’s more than sport. Most importantly, the Melbourne people are an incredible bunch. There's a warm, community sense that vibrates through the city. The locals are typically laid back and welcoming. They love to show off their city and will probably insist on taking you out on the town, exchanging slang words and introducing you to their mates.

This city is famous as the home of culture in Australia and has amazing art exhibitions, markets, music and comedy festivals; shopping, nightclubs and trendy bars. Whatever your taste, you'll find places in Melbourne dedicated to people like yourself.

Top Things To Do In Melbourne

Travel the Great Ocean Road

Watch ‘the race that stops a nation’

Catch the ANZAC Day AFL Game at the MCG

What’s included?

Sports Club
✓ Membership to a quality sports club✓ The opportunity to play and train with top Australian sports players

Social Events✓ Regular overseas social events e.g. surfing trips and tickets to great sporting events*✓ Social events with your sports club
*The social events arranged for our participants are dependent upon the length and time of their programme. Our participants are informed of these social events during their programme.